Tiny Black Insects Invading North Texas

News reports from northern Texas claim that tiny black insects called hackberry nipple gall makers — also known as hackberry gall psyllids — are swarming around cars, homes and people.

“They are really just a nuisance. They’ve come out over winter. Once the leaves start falling it stirs them up,” according to a pest control operator. “They don’t bite. They don’t sting. They are just annoying.”

“It’s just uncomfortable,” said one home owner. “You can’t get in your car. They in your ears, your hair and your clothes, and it’s just uncomfortable. There are millions of them.”

Luckily, according to Mike Merchant, an urban extension entomologist, “The good news is that hackberry nipple-gall insects are pretty harmless. They do not bite, do not eat clothes and do not hog the remote. Apart from needing to be vacuumed up from windowsills occasionally, you shouldn’t be too inconvenienced by these insects.”